Have you met the "gender unicorn?" Your children might have already. Parents should be introduced to the gender unicorn, too, ya know, because some of us are trying to raise the children we had, help them understand our world and offer help navigating it.

Chances are, you'll need to make your own introductions. When I checked out my school district's health curriculum for elementary and middle school students, as I was invited to do before my children's health education classes began in the spring, I didn't see the mythical creature included. I heard about it when a middle school student I know came home with the gender unicorn handout, made available in a class by one of his teachers.

I've since learned, from a Southwest Washington school district and the Oregon Department of Education, that while there are state learning standards and specific curriculum for the public to review at both the state and district levels, teachers are understandably given some leeway regarding the use of supplemental materials, so long as they line up with learning standards. While that might not be problematic in math, it can be trouble for ideological subject matter, thus spawning this call to parents to be more involved in their child's schooling. And school boards should know that if it is a true goal to have parents participate in their child's learning in health education, as is often said, they should be making sure teachers run supplemental materials for health instruction by them. After all, if parents can't see all the subject matter taught and resources given when reviewing health education curriculum, why offer them the chance?

The gender unicorn, when in color, is purple, looking like a relative of Barney, the Tyrannosaurus rex who preached about friendship and love in the '90s. And he thinks about rainbows. See the unicorn, created and provided by Trans Student Educational Resources, which is "dedicated to transforming the educational environment for trans and gender nonconforming students through advocacy and empowerment," here.

The unicorn invites students to consider their gender identity, gender expression, declare their sex "assigned at birth," and choose who they're physically and emotionally attracted to. For the kids who haven't yet had their first kiss, or even the desire for one, this must be confusing subject matter. After all, many adults aren't even clear on the differences between gender identity, gender expression and sexual identity, and we're misguidedly fighting about bathrooms, instead of employing common-sense solutions for the loo.

Then again, since school health curriculum in Washington, and some curriculums in Oregon, now start instruction about gender issues as early as kindergarten, perhaps it's less confusing than I think it would be. Ely Sanders, the Sexual Health and School Health Specialist for the Oregon Department of Education, told me. "We have more and more kindergartners coming out and identifying." The standards adopted have that in mind.

Schools and society have become better at respecting all people and crafting fewer assumptions about, or expectations of, individuals -- a goal of the states' current health curriculums. Suicide rates related to struggles with gender and sexual identity, as well as the number of teachers students meet who are gay, bisexual, transgender or transitioning, demand that our children become familiar with these topics, whether we think they are ready for them or not. Parents need to get involved, offering their guiding principles, earlier than ever. Our kids' online access, peers exposed to different family experiences and school-directed curriculum that touches on gender issues early on are forcing the issue.

Teaching students to treat all people with dignity and respect is valuable, and schools celebrate diversity in many encouraging ways. That's welcome. Some kids are made fun of or bullied for their gender expression. Some kids are ostracized for their religious beliefs. Last school year, I watched a fourth-grader get laughed at by her classmates for defending a President Trump proposal.

Sanders said he believes that this particular handout, or a similar one, is used in some Oregon schools. He says it is becoming a common lesson, and it is one aligned to the standards.

If concerned about a handout a teacher incorporates -- and that you actually happen to see from your child -- I'd talk directly to that teacher about the concern. You might find you agree more than you disagree with what kids are learning in class and how. If that doesn't produce a satisfactory result, however, Sanders says school districts are required to have a specific process for handling concerns included on their websites.

The best solution I see is for those teaching health education to run supplemental materials by their students' parents, remembering that parents are supposed to be children's primary educators. Some parents have given up that role; but some of us haven't. I want to be at least as involved in the gender-and-sexual-identity discussion with my kid as a purple unicorn.